Turkish central bank’s reserves soar to record $143.6B

According to weekly figures released on Thursday, the Turkish central bank’s official reserve assets surged to $143.6 billion as of May 31, marking their highest level since Dec. 22, 2023.

The bank’s international reserves and foreign currency liquidity report indicated that gross reserves climbed from $142.2 billion in the previous week.

Convertible foreign currency reserves, denominated in foreign currencies, witnessed a notable increase of $1.14 billion from the previous week, reaching $83.9 billion by the end of last week.

Surge in gold reserves

Additionally, the bank’s gold reserves, including gold deposits and, if applicable, gold-swapped, rose by $264 million from May 24 to $59.74 billion on May 31.

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek commenting on the figures, highlighted that Türkiye’s net reserves, excluding swaps, turned positive for the first time since March 2020, with a growth of $67 billion in the last two months.

Our resilience to external shocks is strengthening. Our reserves and macro-financial stability are bolstering.

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek

To further augment reserves, the government is committed to achieving a sustainable current account deficit through initiatives such as green transformation, energy efficiency, new industrial policies, and measures aimed at boosting direct foreign investments and enhancing access to capital-like external resources.